50 Years of Student Research at Governors State University

The three pillars that provide the foundations for the excellent education at GSU are teaching, research, and service. Faculty and students have engaged in myriad of research activities since the inception of GSU in 1969. This presentation highlights the efforts, successes, and triumphs of students research in the last fifty years. Prior to 1995, students engaged in research, published in journals, and presented their work in professional conferences. A formal forum in the form of an Annual GSU Student Research Conference was introduced in 1995 by the Provost Office to provide students to present their research work before an audience of their peers. This annual event generated enthusiasm and encouraged students to pursue research, and amplified the level of publications and presentations at external conferences. The Office of Student Life extended the helping hand to students by providing funds for presentations at the professional conferences. In 2013, an undergraduate research program was created by the Provost Office to promote research starting at the early years of college, which resulted in the First Annual Undergraduate Symposium in 2014. After 21 years of the Annual GSU Student Research Conference and the Second Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium, the Provost Office created the Research Day in 2016 to embrace not only these two conferences, but to include faculty research. This year marks the fourth Annual Research Day, which has grown ever since its inception. This presentation will focus on the student research prior to 1995, from 1995 to 2015, and 2016 to present